WILLIAMSTOWN -Hovering over the Ohio River on West Virginia 14 in Williamstown is a two-story Federal-style brick mansion that housed some of the city’s most powerful families and hosted a world-renown guest.

The Tomlinson Mansion has more than 175 years of history, most of which is tied to two of Williamstown’s founding families- the Tomlinsons and Hendersons, who were united through marriage.

“There were three Joseph Tomlinsons, the first, the second and the third. The third was the gentleman who built the house here in Williamstown,” explained Pat Peters, a member of the local historical society.

Joseph Tomlinson II and Joseph Tomlinson III were actually brothers, son to the first Joseph Tomlinson, who traveled extensively surveying land with Isaac Williams (the city’s namesake).

“Joseph III built a log cabin on the land where the house is now…That house burned down in 1838, and that’s when it was replaced with the brick mansion that stands there now,” explained Peters.

Tomlinson was a very important character in Williamstown’s early history. He served as Justice of the Peace, sheriff and eventually was elected to represent his district in the Virginia legislature.

He was also a personal friend of John James Audubon. The world famous ornithologist and painter stayed at the Tomlinson Mansion while researching birds in the area.

“He stated it was the perfect setting for drawing and painting birds because it was near the river and had so many acres to it,” explained Peters.

Joseph III’s only daughter, Elizabeth, married George W. Henderson, and the home remained in the Henderson family until the 1970s when it was purchased by Pat Love and her husband.

“We moved down there to that place and I thought I was just in heaven because it was so big,” recalled Love.

At that time the house had been used as a rental property for some time and was in a state of disrepair. Love and her husband worked on restoring the property and getting it admitted onto the National Register of Historical Places, which it was in 1974.

The house was full of quirks which pointed to its history, recalled Love. In renovating the old meat curing room into a laundry room, she left the original meat hooks because they were a unique original feature.

“The fireplace in the kitchen, on the one side of the stone fireplace was where they whetted their knives so it looked kind of worn down. I wanted to fix it up but when I found out why it looked like that I thought it was so neat I left it,” she said.

The facade of the house is three bricks thick and made with bricks that were hand fired right on the site, said Love. When her husband wanted to build a garage, he tore down an unused summer kitchen apart from the house and used the bricks to do so, she recalled.

Love sold the house to its present owners, Daniels and Carol Huff in 1985, meaning the house has remained in one of three families for its 175 years of history. The Huffs live in the home part-time.